COLUMBIA, Mo. — Cody Schrader sat in an office inside the Missouri football facility last week in search of advice.
The walk-on running back turned MU single-season rushing record holder turned All-American is getting a shot at the next level, and he wants to make the most of it. Signed as an undrafted free agent by the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, Schrader will face something of an uphill battle in trying to land on a pro team’s roster or practice squad during training camp.
So he turned to somebody who knows a thing or two about running up hills: Brock Olivo.
The former Mizzou running back whose No. 27 jersey was retired not long after a storied, record-setting career on both offense and special teams works with the Tigers as a special teams analyst. Prized among Olivo’s infamous workouts were hill runs — first a hill by his childhood home in greater St. Louis, later a steep slope he happily discovered near the MU campus in Columbia.
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Olivo and Schrader have a lot in common. They hail from the same part of the state and play the same position, setting records at the same school. Schrader, too, is well-known for his diligent workouts.
And both signed with NFL teams as undrafted free agents after their Missouri careers.
That led Schrader to stop by Olivo’s office last Wednesday afternoon.
“Coach, what did you do to get in shape for training camp?” Schrader asked his coach before the meeting.
“I said, ‘Cody, come see me,’” Olivo recalled.
Olivo played four seasons in the NFL with the Detroit Lions, landing with the team by impressing on special teams and securing a role as a flagship player for that unit and backup running back for the offense.
Schrader, who didn’t flash the upside NFL teams evidently wanted to see from a running back worthy of a draft pick, could be in line for a similar role. He seems ready for that.
“He’s on it,” Olivo said. “He’s talking about special teams, the possible positions that he could be playing in the NFL. (I’m) talking to him about the rhythm of a preseason game, what to expect as a rookie.”
It’s a strikingly odd adjustment. Schrader set Mizzou’s single-season rushing record with 1,627 yards. He was a finalist for the Doak Walker Award, which goes to the nation’s top running back each year. He won the Burlsworth Trophy, which is presented to the best player in the country to start his career as a walk-on. He finished his college career with 6,255 all-purpose yards between Missouri and Division II Truman State.
And now he has to focus on special teams?
“It’s not going to be anything new to Cody,” Olivo said.
Even while assembling a breakout final season with the Tigers, Schrader still saw plenty of action on special teams. He played 39 snaps with Mizzou’s punt coverage units this season, according to Pro Football Focus, the most of any MU player who wasn’t a lineman. Schrader covered eight punts during a Cotton Bowl victory over Ohio State.
“He’d be on a 10-play drive, rip it into the end zone for a touchdown and then come right back the next drive and line up on the punt team and run down 40 yards and cover a punt,” Olivo said. “He gets the importance of special teams, so he’s going to parlay that into an NFL career.”
Leveraging that experience and special teams reps will be important when the 49ers open training camp in July. For now, Schrader’s primary task is conditioning.
He’ll be going up against faster and stronger players than he faced during his college days. Reps will matter, particularly in the preseason games that come amid the slog of hot summer practices.
“He’s going to have to, now, be ready for preseason games,” Olivo said. “The preseason games, that’s going to be the most exhausted that these rookies have ever been because, at a certain point, they’re going to have to take all the load on offense or defense, together with special teams.
“I told Cody, ‘Hey man, you might rip a 40-yard touchdown run, and you’re going to have to line up on the ensuing kickoff. ... You better be in shape, and you better go make a play.’ ”
It’s difficult, of course, for an undrafted rookie to make a roster without maximizing opportunities on the field. And that will require him to stay on the field in the first place, something he did well at Missouri.
Schrader carried the ball 276 times last season establishing himself as a workhorse back. He battled through a thigh injury that required him to spend dawn-to-dusk periods in MU’s training room for treatment. That plays to his favor as he prepares for training camp.
“I’ve seen guys in the past, as a player and a coach in the NFL, who weren’t able to take advantage of opportunities because they weren’t in shape. They couldn’t make it in preseason games,” Olivo said. “It’s the conditioning piece of it that’s going to sneak up on these guys.”
Given Schrader’s track record of taking limited opportunities and running with them — landing at Truman State as an under-recruited prospect out of Lutheran South and taking a walk-on spot with the Tigers — Olivo’s optimistic when it comes to the Mizzou standout’s chances in the NFL.
“If you let Cody Schrader into your building, all he needs is to get into it,” Olivo said. “It doesn’t matter whether he’s drafted or an undrafted free agent. You let him in your building, you’re going to have a really hard time getting him out.”